1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to article cleaning means, particularly using water or other liquids or solvents, and more specifically to a system for recovering wash water or solvent used in cleaning an aircraft turbine engine on the aircraft. The system comprises a flexible, liquid proof container which is secured about the underside of the cowling or structure containing the engine, and a second container resting on the surface, for containing waste liquids transferred from the flexible container. The device eliminates, or greatly reduces, spillage of liquids during the engine cleaning operation, and provides for the containment of any hazardous waste released during the operation.
2. Description of the Related Art
All internal combustion engines will build up a certain amount of solid carbon and other deposits internally, at least to a certain extent, over some operational period of time. Depending upon the type of engine, it can become increasingly important to clean such deposits from the engine after some period of operation, generally from a few to several hundred hours of operation.
This internal engine cleaning procedure is conducted routinely by the military with their turbine engine powered aircraft. Generally, the procedure involves the introduction of a liquid solvent or detergent solution into the intake or compressor portion of the engine, whereupon the engine is turned over at a relatively low speed (compared to normal operational rpm; the speed may be on the order of 20% of normal operational rpm) to cause the compressor to force the fluid through the engine and to wash carbon buildup and deposits from the engine, particularly downstream of the hot section of the engine and through the exhaust turbine section.
This procedure is quite efficient at removing carbon and other buildups from the internal components of the engine. However, it will be seen that the detergents or solvents used, will be expelled from the exhaust of the engine, directly onto the underlying surface (ramp pavement, hangar floor, etc.) unless some arrangement is made to recapture the liquid. Also, fluid will spill from the inlet of the cowling or fuselage when the fluid is introduced into the intake portion of the cowling or engine, and will generally spill between the engine and cowling, to leak from various openings and seams in the bottom of the cowling. Obviously, the conventional procedure is exceedingly messy, and results in a great deal of liquid, with contaminants from the engine, being spilled and sprayed over a relatively wide area. This is all the more critical, considering the various hazardous wastes (hydrocarbons, cadmium from plated components, etc.) which must be cleaned up after each engine cleaning operation.
In accordance with the above, a need will be seen for an engine wash recovery system which captures liquids expelled from the engine, engine cowling, and/or fuselage of a turbine engine aircraft undergoing an engine cleaning operation. The system must provide for the capture of any liquids spilling externally from the cowling or fuselage containing the engine, and must also capture liquids which have passed through the engine as they exit the engine from the engine exhaust. The system must be relatively light weight and easy to install, remove, and store as needed, while also providing positive capture of hazardous wastes during the engine cleaning operation, for proper disposal afterwards.
A discussion of the related art of which the present inventor is aware, and its differences and distinctions from the present invention, is provided below.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,804,903 issued on Sep. 3, 1957 to George A. Davies, titled "Protective Cover For A Jet Engine," describes a flexible, bag-like enclosure which completely encloses a turbine engine for sealing during storage. The device cannot be hung from beneath a nacelle or fuselage structure by straps for ease of installation and removal, as provided by the present invention. Even if the device were modified for installation by removing the upper portion and adding straps, there is still no suggestion of any means of recapturing substantial amounts of liquids which pass through the engine, and passing them to another catch container, as provided by the present invention. The Davies enclosure would overflow in short order, resulting in spillage.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,646,980 issued on Mar. 7, 1972 to Fred D. Peterson, titled "Jet Engine Cowl Cover," describes a removable intake cover for turbojet engine aircraft. The device is quite limited relative to the present invention, in that it only covers and seals the intake of the engine. No container for removable installation beneath the fuselage or nacelle is disclosed by Peterson, and no means of ducting or transferring liquid spilled after passing through the engine and/or nacelle or fuselage, is disclosed by Peterson, which features are provided by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,022,257 issued on May 10, 1977 to Daniel J. O'Connell, titled "Funnel-Drainer Device," describes a rigid catch container in the form of an inverted conical section, with a flexible container bag extending from one side of its lower end. The result is generally opposite that of the present invention, which generally comprises a flexible catch container which straps suspendably beneath an engine nacelle or cowling, and which is connected to a rigid receptacle. The rigid catch container or the O'Connell device thus cannot be flexibly draped beneath an engine, as provided by the present invention, and moreover, O'Connell does not provide any means of capturing any fluids which exit the exhaust of the engine, as provided by the present invention. The O'Connell device is primarily directed to use in capturing oil drained from the drain pan of an automobile engine, and cannot be converted or modified in any way to perform the function of the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,064,969 issued on Dec. 27, 1977 to Charles A. Black, titled "Oil Drain Bag," describes an oil collection container for collecting oil drained from an automobile engine. No means is provided by Black for suspending the device from beneath the engine housing (nacelle, cowling, fuselage, etc.) of an aircraft, nor is any means provided by Black for collecting spray passing internally through the engine and exiting the exhaust, both of which means are provided by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,512,463 issued on Apr. 23, 1985 to Randall W. Ward, titled "Free-Standing Flexible Container For Fluids," describes a container for capturing fluids drained from an automobile or other vehicle engine or mechanical component. The device comprises a rigid lower portion, with a flexible upper portion adapted for forming a closure about the top of the device when it has been filled with a fluid. The device is not structured to fit closely about the lower portion of an aircraft engine nacelle or the like, nor is it structured to pass spray carried by engine exhaust through a duct to a container therefor, as provided by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,598,883 issued on Jul. 8, 1986 to William L. Suter, titled "Apparatus For Protecting A Portion Of The Exterior Of An Aircraft," describes a plurality of foam sheets which are removably secured to the upper portions of an aircraft to protect it from the elements. No means of capturing fluids passing through and around the engine and/or cowling is disclosed, as the apparatus does not enclose any of the lower portion of the aircraft.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,705,248 issued on Nov. 10, 1987 to Jonothon M. W. McIntyre, titled "Fluid Collection And Drain Apparatus," describes a disposable collection container for collecting oil or other fluids drained from an automobile. No means is disclosed for suspending the device from beneath the engine, or for collecting and passing exhaust gas and spray passing through the engine to a container for capturing the liquid portions thereof, as provided by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,114,098 issued on May 19, 1992 to Teddy G. Campbell, titled "Aircraft Engine Protective Cover," describes a flexible shield for removably securing to the exhaust nozzle of a turbojet aircraft engine. The device is completely closed, in order to preclude entry of fuel vapors into the hot section of the engine during aircraft refueling operations, and thus cannot transfer exhaust spray to another container, as provided by the present invention. Campbell does not provide any means of capturing fluid runoff from beneath the engine nacelle, as provided by the present invention.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,143,321 issued on Sep. 1, 1992 to Thomas H. Jackson, titled "Folding Protective Cover For Turbo-Engines," describes a turbojet inlet cover for precluding the entry of dirt and foreign objects into the engine inlet while the engine is shut down and the aircraft parked. The device does not extend beneath the nacelle and cannot capture fluids passing through or around the engine and exiting the engine exhaust and nacelle, as provided by the present invention.
Swedish Patent Publication No. 110,533 published on May 2, 1944 illustrates a flexible cover for an automobile engine and transmission assembly, for enclosing the assembly for storage when it has been removed from an automobile. No means is apparent for capturing fluids expelled by the engine when it is running or being turned over, as provided by the present invention.
British Patent Publication No. 574,986 accepted on Jan. 29, 1946, titled "Improved Cover for Use In Protecting Marine And Other Internal Combustion Engines Against Water, Dampness Or Oil," describes a cover of flexible, waterproof material which is used to enclose an installed internal combustion engine in a boat or the like, to preclude its inadvertent submersion. While sealable passages are provided for engine inlet and exhaust so the engine may be operated with the cover in place, no means is provided to capture fluids passing through the engine, and/or fluids collecting within a housing beneath the engine, for disposal, as provided by the present invention.
British Patent Publication No. 1,208,806 published on Oct. 14, 1970, titled "Engine Cowling Ventral Door, For V/STOL Aircraft," describes an automatic mechanism or linkage for opening or lowering a ventral cover when the turbojet nozzle is adjusted downwardly to provide vertical thrust in a V/STOL turbojet aircraft. The device is permanently installed on the aircraft, and does not serve to capture fluids during a cleaning operation, nor is the device operable for routing fluids or engine exhaust during an engine cleaning operation, as provided by the present invention.
Finally, the present inventor is aware of a system previously developed for use in collecting wash liquids used in the cleaning of engines on C-130 military aircraft. The device utilizes a rigid collector of aluminum sheet (as opposed to the present flexible collector) beneath the forward portion of the engine nacelle, and routes air from the engine exhaust into a defueling tank to collect liquids passing through the engine and from the collector. The device is relatively complex in comparison to the present invention, with two 55 gallon drums welded together for attaching the engine exhaust duct to the defueling tank. The lid of the defueling tank is left open to vent the apparatus, with no filter being disclosed, as provided in the present invention. As such defueling tanks do not have horizontal baffles therein, they cannot separate the liquid from the engine exhaust air as efficiently as the present baffled container. Also, excess wash liquid typically overflows the engine intake during cleaning operations. The prior art device would allow this liquid to spill, whereas the present invention captures all liquids used in the cleaning operation and/or emanating from the engine and/or engine housing, by means of an intake extension on the collector. The prior art apparatus requires a powered tractor or the like to tow the defueling trailer to a location for storage, and the defueling tank and trailer are sufficiently large and heavy that they cannot be moved manually by a single individual, as can the present wash recovery system.
None of the above inventions and patents, either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.